This might be a stupid question to those who work in this field. I think scavenger refers to both dead meat or decayed meat eater instead of just of decayed meat eater. But I am not 100% sure. Also what animals eat (deeply) rotten meat?

I have an argument with a friend about if dogs are dead meat eater or decayed meat eater. What is your stand on this one?

Decayed meat is meat that's been or is being eaten by microbes, so bacteria doing this will continue doing so until it's lost all nutrient or they're killed off and might be a good example. Some vultures (like the Turkey vulture) rely on strongly-smelling meat to attract them from hundreds of miles away, and the more rotton the meat the more it smells.

You'll have to make your own decision about dogs - I'm sure beyond a certain level or decay they won't eat meat, but I expect each dog draws the line slightly differently!

Thanks for your reply. So I guess there is no clear definition on decayed meat eater. The meat starts to decay the minute after the animal is dead. So all meat eaters eat decaying/decayed meat at some degree, the only difference is how decayed the meat is.

Carnivores eat meat. By definition, meat is dead. Carrion Eaters or Scavengers eat decaying meat. Carnivores tend not to eat decayed meat, while Carrion eaters prefer decaying meat but will eat fresh meat as well, with some exceptions. There are some Carrion eaters which can only digest meat after it has rotted. Carrion Eaters are a type of Carnivore